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UK flight delays to continue due to phone glitch UK flight delays to continue due to phone glitch
(35 minutes later)
A telephone glitch that caused hundreds of flights to be delayed will not be fixed before 1800 GMT, air traffic controllers have said.A telephone glitch that caused hundreds of flights to be delayed will not be fixed before 1800 GMT, air traffic controllers have said.
Thousands of passengers are stranded in UK airports after the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) internal phone system broke down. Thousands of passengers faced cancellations and long waits after the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) internal phone system broke down.
Disruption of Sunday's flights is "inevitable", Nats said, even if the problem is rectified later.Disruption of Sunday's flights is "inevitable", Nats said, even if the problem is rectified later.
Affected airports include Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Cardiff and Glasgow.Affected airports include Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Cardiff and Glasgow.
A passenger who said he had been waiting five hours at London's Gatwick airport said people were "crying, distraught and angry".A passenger who said he had been waiting five hours at London's Gatwick airport said people were "crying, distraught and angry".
"One passenger has missed their sister's wedding," Tom Flatman, from Brighton, told the BBC."One passenger has missed their sister's wedding," Tom Flatman, from Brighton, told the BBC.
By midday, air traffic controllers had dealt with 1,700 flights rather than the usual 2,000 on a normal Saturday. 'Not good enough'
By midday, air traffic controllers had dealt with 2,800 flights rather than the usual 3,500 on a normal Saturday.
Ryanair has 100 flights affected to and from the south of England, with 10 flights cancelled. It called on the Civil Aviation Authority to act.Ryanair has 100 flights affected to and from the south of England, with 10 flights cancelled. It called on the Civil Aviation Authority to act.
"While we acknowledge problems can occur, where is the contingency? It's simply not good enough and the CAA needs to act now," it said in a statement."While we acknowledge problems can occur, where is the contingency? It's simply not good enough and the CAA needs to act now," it said in a statement.
Heathrow had cancelled 60 flights by 09:45 GMT, with these split between arrivals and departures.Heathrow had cancelled 60 flights by 09:45 GMT, with these split between arrivals and departures.
Meanwhile:Meanwhile:
Nats said the problem at its Swanwick centre, in Hampshire, arose in the early hours of Saturday morning when the night-time operation failed to properly switch over to the daytime system.Nats said the problem at its Swanwick centre, in Hampshire, arose in the early hours of Saturday morning when the night-time operation failed to properly switch over to the daytime system.
"Because of the problem with the internal telephone system, it was not possible to open the additional control positions this morning, resulting in a significant reduction in capacity in some areas of UK en-route airspace," a spokeswoman said. "At night we manage quite big sectors of airspace because the traffic demand is low," Nats operations manager Juliet Kennedy said.
"Safety has not been compromised at any time." "During the day, as demand increases, we need to split the airspace into smaller sectors - last night we were unable to open new positions.
It said the problem should be fixed by between 1800 GMT and 1900 GMT but delays are likely to continue later. "It was a problem with the internal telephone system."
Operations director Juliet Kennedy told the BBC she did not think the problem had happened before. She said she expected it to be fixed between 1800 and 1830 GMT but that how long disruption to flight schedules would continue depended on the individual airlines.
She added that there had been no impact safety.
The BBC's transport correspondent Richard Westcott said it was a totally different issue to a software problem that hit the control centre in summer.The BBC's transport correspondent Richard Westcott said it was a totally different issue to a software problem that hit the control centre in summer.
The Nats spokeswoman added: "We now understand what the problem is and our engineers are working hard to rectify the issues as quickly as possible. Ms Kennedy added: "We want to apologise to people. We are very aware of how much inconvenience this has caused people."
"Everyone in our operation is continuing to work closely with our customers to manage the traffic and clear the backlog."
'Shambolic''Shambolic'
Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, Luton, London City, Newcastle, Exeter and Bournemouth are among other airports that have reported delays, asking passengers to check with their airlines.Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, Luton, London City, Newcastle, Exeter and Bournemouth are among other airports that have reported delays, asking passengers to check with their airlines.
Stansted Airport said flights were subject to delays, while Gatwick said 20% of its departures had been delayed, with passengers being warned they may have to wait for "a couple of hours".Stansted Airport said flights were subject to delays, while Gatwick said 20% of its departures had been delayed, with passengers being warned they may have to wait for "a couple of hours".
Travel reporter Simon Calder said there were "lots and lots of delays" at Stansted, while Heathrow Airport had "long delays" of up to 40 minutes in departures. At Stansted, Alena Kontza was stuck on a Ryanair plane that had been delayed for three hours. She told the BBC passengers had been given "absolutely no information" and "it's been nothing less than shambolic".
At Stansted, Alena Kontza's has been stuck on a Ryanair plane that has been delayed for three hours. She told the BBC passengers had been given "absolutely no information" and "it had been nothing less than shambolic".
"People are really aggravated, children are crying, people want to leave, people want to change to different planes, it's an absolute nightmare," she said."People are really aggravated, children are crying, people want to leave, people want to change to different planes, it's an absolute nightmare," she said.
'Backlog of planes' And in Norwich, one mother said she was worried she would have to cancel a planned Christmas trip to Lapland tomorrow morning.
"It's the second time we are trying to do this trip," Lisa Smith said. "We were grounded by snow two years ago.
"My son will be devastated. How do you tell a child twice they are not going to Lapland?"
Independent aviation analyst Chris Yates said it was going to be a "day of frustrations".Independent aviation analyst Chris Yates said it was going to be a "day of frustrations".
He said that passengers due to arrive at UK airports from overseas could find themselves diverted elsewhere.He said that passengers due to arrive at UK airports from overseas could find themselves diverted elsewhere.
"But it's going to be a long wait for them. When the system kicks back in and starts working, there will be a backlog of flights."But it's going to be a long wait for them. When the system kicks back in and starts working, there will be a backlog of flights.
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